
Erykah Badu Clarifies Stance On R. Kelly Following Fan Outrage
"I love you. Unconditionally. That doesn’t mean I support your poor choices."
Erykah Badu sparked outrage on Twitter on Saturday (Jan. 19) after she appeared to defend R. Kelly during a show in Chicago. During her set at the Aragon Ballroom, the songstress told fans that she was “puttin’ up a prayer ” for the disgraced R&B singer, despite Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly docuseries and nearly two decades of sexual abuse allegations. Now, amidst the backlash, Badu is stepping in to clarify her remarks and feelings toward Kelly.
"I love you. Unconditionally. That doesn’t mean I support your poor choices,” she tweeted in response to the controversy surrounding her initial comments. “I want healing for you and anyone you have hurt as a result of you being hurt. Is that strange to you? That’s all I’ve ever said. Anything else has been fabricated or taken out of context.”
As previously noted, Badu indicated that fans should show "unconditional" love to Kelly in hopes that he will get the help he needs. "But what if one of the people that was assaulted by R. Kelly grows up to be an offender, we gonna crucify them? I mean how do we do this? Just something to think about," she said during her concert.
While many fans were upset by Badu's message, this wouldn't be the first time she has defended R. Kelly, Spin notes. In 2015, she introduced the singer at the Soul Train Awards, where she claimed he had “done more for black people than anyone."
Check out Erykah Badu's latest comment below.
I love you. Unconditionally.
That doesn’t mean I support your poor choices.
I want healing for you and anyone you have hurt as a result of you being hurt. Is that strange to you ?
That’s all I’ve ever said. Anything else has been fabricated or taken out of context. - eb— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) January 21, 2019